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WildCard (Earth-1)
"Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting."''' WildCard is a character introduced in Wildcard (S02E02) and he became a recurring villain since then, and served as the primary villain of the first half of season 2. He is a criminal mastermind and is on one hand a vicious, calculating and psychotic killer and on the other he is goofy, almost noble in demeanor. He is completely unpredictable and serves as a worthy adversary of Margot and the Extras. Personality At his most base, WildCard can be described as a sadistic, fiendishly brilliant lunatic with a warped sense of humor, deriving pleasure from inflicting twisted, morrbid (and often ironic) death and terror upon innocent people. An exmample of this are the five murders he committed prior to first meeting Guardian Angel, as each victim was themselves a criminal and each killed in a manner that befitted their crimes in life. WildCard revels in fear, chaos and a black, macabre sense of humor. Along with being extremely sadistic, WildCard seems to have very little care for his own safety, such as when he began laughing hysterically while being beaten by Guardian Angels and telling her to kill him while she flew him to the police station. This comes largely from the belief that his murder at her hands will result in him "winning" their fued, as he had forced her to commit murder. WIldCard is a brilliant tactician and a master manipulator. He enters every encounter with the advantage and if he doesn't, he quickly turns the tables so that he gains it. He seems to be in complete control of his actions and he always thinks six steps ahead. Despite having comitted murder, theft, arson, assault, breaking and entering and other crimes, he is smart enough to not leave behind evidence of his involvement. He always willingly goes along into police custody and is smart enough to know how to play the system, remaining free citing lack of evidence. He uses this as evidence to Margot that he cannot be stopped or restrained by the law, meaning the only permanent way to stop him would be to murder him. This appears to be WildCard's ultimate end goal: his murder at Guardian Angel's hands. He claims not to be insane, but that he simply "opened his eyes". This may have been legitimately true, in the sense that he still exhibits a morally nihilistic mindset, yet he still exhibits many symptoms of various failings of mental health.He exhibits various symptons of an antisocial personality, blatantly disregarding laws and social norms far beyond the standard deviant behavior. WildCard also has a low level of inhibition and a relentless drive to disturb the status quo. He is driven by something other than money: he believes that the current system is corrupt and he doubts how deep human morality really is. He believes that in the end, when everything has gone completely to Hell, human beings will betray and kill each other to stay ahead of the pack. WildCard does not believe in heroes and it is his opinion that Guardian Angel does far more harm than good for society. In his view, her very presence is beginning to attract a new wave of super-criminals, inspiring others to put on masks and either commit crimes or die trying to prevent them, all because she inspired them to do so. WildCard believes that in order to save society, it needs to be "woken up" and understand that there are no such things as heroes. The first step to a better world, he believes, is the fall of the Superhero. He no longer considers himself to be Paul Anderson, and refers to that part of him as "Paul" or "Him". He has also stated on several occasions that "Paul" is dead and that "when he closed his eyes for the final time, I woke up". It is unclear what he exactly means by this. One theory states that WildCard is a separate personality from Paul, sort of like a Mr. Hyde that took over when Paul proved to be too weak. Another theory states that Paul is metaphorically dead and that he is now only WildCard. Yet another, more far fetched theory, is that Paul Anderson is immortal but that he spawns a new personality every time he regenerates. Whatever the truth, he holds no attachment to his old life or identity. When Margot revealed she had learned his identity, WildCard showed little more than apathy. He sees himself as a literal wild card in the deck, there to shake things up, wake people up and while he does recruit henchman and try to enact his nefarious schemes, he puts his philosophies higher than himself.He cares nothing for money, although he does see its usefulness as he used money that he acquired early in his criminal career (when he was knocking off casinos, in his words) to purchase his equipment, his costume and hire escaped mental patients to form his own gang. Cruel and psychotic as he is, WildCard has a human side. He seems to posses his own code of ethics and honor. In his own way, he is trying to stop more people from dying (although he is, paradoxically, killing more to achieve this end). He often remarks to Margot when they meet in civilian areas that she needs to "leave work at work". He holds nothing personal against Margot, simply a desire to stop her masked counterpart. He has never touched her or harmed her, nor has he really hurt any Extra. He has even come to the hero's aid, helping them fight against the Horde of villains who escaped Olympus Superhuman Penetentiary in Horde (S02E13), blowing up several of their most strategically-placed buildings, bringing his own posse of derranged henchman to keep their own mind-controlled mob at bay and even fighting himself against the Horde. He reportedly doesn't want what he referred to as a "group of psychopaths" let loose on Seattle. Despite this, WildCard still considers himself to be removed and opposed to the Extras as a whole, though, literally laughing at Margot's offer to join the team in Horde. When he lets loose, WildCard tends to kill with a theatric flair with a penchant for macabre, ironic humor. For example, his first recorded murder was a Texas man who was a convicted pedophile who was found, throat slit, in a toy box in a day care. He seems to take pride and delight in his heinous crimes, fondly recalling each like a he was remembering a pleasant summer's day. When he fights, he is shown to be a skilled, fearless, and unpredictable fighter, taking on opponents with ease, showing how he can be lethal with many forms of weaponry; and was even capable of holding his own against super-powered enemies, even going so far as to kill one. One explanation for WildCard's fighting skills might have to do with his psychotic personality: WildCard doesn't really fear physical damage to himself like a normal person would, and even when brutally injured laughs at his own pain. His casual insensitivity to pain, and his extreme fearlessness, lets him take risks that a normal person wouldn't even attempt, and so most people just don't see his attacks coming. WildCard's obliviousness to danger makes him invulnerable to what is usually one of The Extra's greatest weapons in combat: the ability to frighten low-level thugs. In short, WildCard fears nothing, even embracing death. This, more than anything, makes him a truly unpredictable wild card. History Paul Anderson was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, the son of a lawyer. He grew up an extremely gifted child but suffered from minor anxiety issues and obbsessive-compulsive tendencies. He did not often cry as a child. His father left their family when Paul was very young, as he could no longer deal with his mother's paranoid schizophrenia. After that, he was forced to look after her. He graduated high school at age 12. At one point in his senior year, he was a victim of bullying in school and was stripped naked and tied to a goalpost in front of other students. After waiting for the teenagers to leave, he walked home only to find his mother had not noticed his absence as she had been having a schizophrenic episode. As his mother was mostly delerious and other children were intimidated by his intellect, Paul was mostly alone, though he took well to it. He grew up a voracious reader and what time he did have with his mother (a college professor) was often spent with her reading to him. He still knew the way she was living was unhealthy and, when he was eighteen, had his mother placed in a mentla institution. He sent her a letter every day until his death due to his guilt. He attended Harvard University starting at age 13 and achieved a PhD in Mathematics, Chemistry and Engineering in addition to a BAS in Psychology and Sociology. He went straight to the FBI Academy in Langely at age 21, though he had trouble with just about everything that wasn't book-related, including marksmanship, physical training and the obstacle course. However, in the end, his immense intellect and natural talent caused the Bureau to make special exceptions to get him into the field, where he worked as a criminal profiler in conjuntion with the Los Angeles Police Department. One of his first cases was a man known as the "Studio City Strangler". The man had managed to evafe captivity for years but Paul's brilliant work soon deduced his identity as an amnesiac killer and his fame soon began to spread. He continued to perform admirably, providing remarkable insight into criminals' minds. In 2008, he married his co-worker Claudia Fields (a CSI). Indeed, he was flying high. That is, until Christmas Eve of that year. This was the first murder of the White Glove, a serial killer who had began operating in the LA area, leaving behind only a single, white silk glove as his calling card. For nearly three years Paul and the White Glove began a bloody game of cat and mouse, all the while Paul retained a sense of honor and purpose. Everything culminated in White Glove's capture and eventual release citing lack of evidence. White Glove then began making threats against Paul and Claudia, eventually ending in an attack on Paul's life by hired thugs and his home being blown up (and he believed Claudia was inside). Enraged that the law had failed him and that the killer had seemingly won, Paul contronted White Glove and attacked him, discovering that White Glove had only come onto the scene because Paul had inspired him to do so. Appaled, Paul murdered White Glove before shooting himself in the head shortly after. He was pronounced dead at 3:42 am on Christmas Eve 2012, exactly four years after White Glove's first appearance. It is unknown what happened to result in WildCard's emergence, but it would be another two years before the masked madman first made himself known to Guardian Angel. Notable Accomplishments *Note: : For the sake of simplicity, the notable accomplishments of this character will only cover his actions during the course of the campaign and will leave out the accomplishments made by Paul Anderson prior to his attempted suicide. *First Appearance (Wildcard, S02E02) *Staged Mass Break-Outs at five different mental institutions (Clay, S02E03) *Blew up a TGI Friday (Clay, S02E03) *Declared Innocent at his trial (Visitor, S02E08) *Fought in the Battle of Stone Bridge (Horde, S02E13) Notable Victories *Magnetic Man Murdered (Horde, S02E13) *The Green Man Murdered (Horde, S02E13) Relationships with Others WildCard interacts with others through a lense of cynical nihilism, seeing the absolute worst in every person he encounters. He enjoys toying with others, using veiled insults and teasing nicknames to rile them up. He likes to see how far he can push others before they become hostile or violent, although he is capable of being serious when he has to be. He likes making jokes and puns (often with a macabre tint), often at others' expense. He really has no opinion one way or the other on literally any of the Extras, including Night-Falcon or Gangbanger. They're all stupid kids, he reasons and none of them worth his time. The one exception is Margot Audley, aka the Guardian Angel, is a superhero and, according to WildCard, one of the most dangerous individuals in the country. His entire crusade revolves around pushing Angel to the breaking point and causing her to murder him, proving to the world that there is no such thing as heroes. Despite this, he does not hate Margot. Indeed, he seems to hold absolutely no ill will toward her, as every time they interact he acts friendly toward her. He has even gone so far as to attend her high school play, bringing her a boquet of surprisingly not-poisoned flowers. He is silly with Margot and genuinely treats her almost like a friend, despite the animosity shared by their counterparts. Professionally, WildCard is constantly trying to goad Angel into killing him. Henchmen WildCard is a lone act, but he has recruited a number of henchmen to aid him in the logistical aspects of his plans. He has named his gang the "Flush Gang", named after the Poker hand. The vast majority of his gang have mental disorders and many of them are escaped mental patients that WildCard recruited early in his career. Each member of the gang wears clown masks or make-up, and each also has a tattoo on their neck with the number 2 and a suit (diamonds, spades, hearts or clubs). It is unknown if the suit has any meaning to the gang member they are tatooed on or not. These gang members are loyal to WildCard to the death and serve his every whim. They tend to be armed with chains, knives, bats and various types of firearms. Notable Henchman include: *'Mr. Hammer:' His most intimidating henchman and the one appearing by name the most often. *'Chuckles:' His "second-in-command" and usually the leader of operations where WildCard is not present. Powers and Abilities WildCard is a human and thus possesses no superhuman abilities. He does, however, posses a number of trained skills and natural talents that aid him in his crusade against Guardian Angel: *'Chemistry:' WildCard is an PhD-level chemist and is unparralleled in his ability to examine and identity foreign chemicals. He also firmly grasps the advanced mechanics of chemistry, able to mix lethal compounds that are difficult to counteract. *'Deduction:' His mind functions like a computer, using every skill he possess to attain a massive amount of information from very small details. As such, he can perform seemingly impossible feats of deduction fairly easily, such as reading a person's family history from the condition of their cell phone or deducing a person's occupation based on how they hold themselves. While this skill once made him one of the premier criminal profilers in the country, it now has transformed him into one of the most dangerous criminals in the Extras' rouge's gallery. He has, in fact, used this ability to deduce the identities of the entire team. *''' Disguise:' WildCard is able to craft and retain incredible disguises of varying complexity. *'Eidetic Memory:' He is able to memorize almost everything he sees and reads, lending itself to an insanely detailed, expansive memory and a computer-like knowledge database. *'Engineering:' WildCard is adept at engineering and architecture, allowing him to not only construct weapons and other equipment but also how most effectively to use it. *'Escapaology:' WildCard is a master of escape, able to break free from bonds, prisons and restraints of nearly any kind. He trained with the same man who taught' Justicar'. *'Explosives:' A combination of his skill with engineering and chemistry, WildCard is an expert with making bombs and other explosives. *'Hand-to-Hand:' WildCard possess considerable hand-to-hand combat skills, which he picked up from his training with the FBI. *'Indomitable Will:' A combination of his psychosis and his previous identity's own mental resilience have made him both fearless and indomitable. He is nearly immune to psychic attack and readings. His mind is exceedingly difficult to mavigate and is constantly on the attack to rid itself of any psychic intruders. Spending too much time in WildCard's mind could potentially cause the psychic to lose their own minds. *'Knife Fighting:' WildCard's trademark weapon in a fight is his array of knives. He is an expert with knives, able to fight both offensively and defensively with them with ease. He is also capable of throwing knives accurately at ranges of over 30 feet. *'Intellect:' WildCard possesses immense intellect, with an IQ of 220. *'Marksmanship: WildCard is a capable marksman, due to his FBI training, though he prefers to fight using his knife. *'Psychology: '''WildCard is an expert at human psychology. He constantly uses this in his schemes and to manipulate not just the Extras, but police officers, juries, judges and all those around him. *'Sleight of Hand: From a hobby as a youth of studying magic tricks, WildCard is very skilled with sleight of hand, illusions and the art of deception. *'Tactician: '''WIldCard is capable of advanced tactical thinking and analysis, able to plan exceedingly complex plans and schemes that go off with perfect timing and function. He is also able to keep six steps ahead of his enemies and often plans based on how he anticipates they will react. Paraphernelia WildCard uses quite a bit of gear in his war on the Extras. Equipment *'Gag Teeth: These wind-up novelty, gag toys are simply a pair of teeth and wind-up legs. WildCard often has these at crime scenes, or other places that he wishes to indicate to the Extras that he wants them to be. They serve no function apart from as a marker and to mock Guardian Angel and her allies. *'''Grenades: WildCard carries with him a number of grenades. While he has some nonlethal grenades (smoke and a flash bang), most of them are homemade frag grenades with happy-faces painted on the front. *'Guns:' WildCard usually carries at least a pistol or revolver with him. He has also been seen with a sawed-off shotgun and presumably has other guns in his arsenal. *'Joy Buzzer:' WildCard occasionally wears a joy buzzer that is capable of administiring a lethal electric shock. *'Knives: '''He tends to carry an array of knives and box-cutters on his person at any one time. *'Clown Mask:' WildCard wears a tough, almost ceramic clown mask that hides his identity. It also inspires fear in those he confronts. It also comes with a filter that allows him to safely breathe in smoke or toxic gases. *'Playing Cards: He always carries a deck of cards with him at all times. His calling card is a #2 card of varying suites, though he seems to prefer Spades. Weaknesses WildCard also possesses a number of weaknesses that hinder him. *'''Arrogance: WildCard is very arrogant and despite his intellect and experience in psychology, he is capable of underestimating his adversaries. *'Mental Illness: '''WildCard clearly displays various signs of mental illness, most probably Antisocial Disorder. *'Nihilistic: 'His world view is very dark and grim, though pragmatic in its own way. However, he is almost incapable of understanding that sometimes people are willing to sacrifice for the greater good, or that people can be altruistic. This weakness, an inability to understand the heroes he fights, will most likely be the reason he is defeated. Notes *WildCard's Play-by actor is Matthew Gray Gubler. *WildCard's was first hinted at in the Season 1 episode ''Seeds, and first properly mentioned in Brother, albeit in passing. Trivia *WildCard will not wear matching socks, which is a habit he retained from Paul Anderson. Paul believed wearing matching socks to be bad luck (an old Bavarian superstition). The one day he wore matching socks was the day he died. *He is a talented sketch artist. *Favorite director is Wes Anderson. His favorite movie is a tie between The Life Acquatic and the original Star Wars trilogy. *He is obsessed with Doctor Who. *Promotes his website, called "Cardland", as a real place and calls its members "Cardloids". *Favorite poem is "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe. *Loves Disneyland, monograms, Japan, Dinosaurs, Star Wars, carving pumpkins, playign badminton, eating cashew, taking baths and hats (especially sombreros). *Paul Anderson had a phobia of clowns. *Favorite musicians are Tiny Tim, Weird Al Yankovic, Bright Eyes, Tim & Eric and Snoop Dogg. His favorite kind of music, by far, is classical music. He is a classical music afficienado and can be mostly commonly found listening to classical. *Loves Reality TV, as it distills humanity down to its real, ugly core. *Favorite authors include Roald Dahl, Mark Twain, Ray Bradburry, Lewis Carroll, John Steinbeck and Chuck Palahniuk. 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